SuperDividend ETF Attracts Heavy Volume In Debut

Investors' infatuation with both exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and dividend-paying stocks helped Global X Funds' new SuperDividend ETF fly out of the gates in its first trading day last week.

On June 9, Global X SuperDividend ETF (Ticker: SDIV) became available on the NYSE Arca and traded more than 320,000 shares with a value of almost $8 million, the third-most actively traded debut among more than 160 funds that have hit the Street this year.

"The Global X SuperDividend ETF may be our most innovative ETF to date and we are pleased to see investors embracing SDIV from day one," Bruno del Ama, Global X Funds' CEO, said in a statement.

Company officials said the new offering looks to meet or exceed the performance of the Solactive Global SuperDividend Index. The index tracks the performance of 100 equally weighted companies that rank among the highest dividend yielding equity securities in the world. By having equal weighting across a diverse group of 100 securities, investors may have less risk exposure in the event that a single company depreciates in price or reduces its dividend.

The U.S. and Australia are home to the majority of firms included in the fund, 32% and 24%, respectively, but other countries including Canada, Great Britain and Singapore have companies and their stocks included.

Last week, S&P issued a report recommending investors take a close look at stocks from firms that have consistently paid out solid dividends to investors over a long period of time. In fact, the report found, dividends have accounted for more than 40% of the total return for the S&P 500 since 1926.